Konyi
On April 26, 2010, László Várkonyi, Konyi for short, was climbing with his partner, Dávid Klein, on the north side of Everest. Their goal was to be the first Hungarians to summit Everest without using oxygen and this was Konyi's eighth trip to Everest. As they were ascending to the North Col during one of their acclimatization and carry climbs, a massive serac burst from above and tumbled on top of them and other climbers, dragging Konyi into a crevasse where his body was never recovered.
We shared Base Camp and Advanced Base Camp services with Konyi and David. Although Konyi and I spoke different languages, I could tell he had a keen sense of humor and was someone I would like to get to know better, if only we could communicate. When I gestured to him that I wanted to take an up-close photo of his eyes, I briefly looked down at my camera and when I looked back up, in an instant, he was wearing another crazy set of glasses. See below.
I read the following in an article in Summit Post about Konyi:
He had climbed many 7000-metre and 8000-metre peaks; a humble man, he would gently reject the word “conquered”. He had visited Everest, the tallest peak on Earth, eight times. Now, following his eighth attempt, he remains there forever.
Konyi was the only Hungarian to have climbed to 8750 metres without using supplementary oxygen. He did not want to use the cylinders because he felt it was contrary to his view of what clean climbing should be.
In many ways Konyi was a lucky man, possessing some very rare genetic abilities: most notably he could survive several days in a row at 8600 metres, the so-called death zone. For instance two years ago, when his climbing partner, Dávid Klein turned back, he stayed alone at 8600 metres for two days, as he was certain he had a chance of summiting. He had exceptionally sensitive intuition when it came to judging changes in the weather, snow conditions, and the terrain, and eventually concluded that a safe return could not be guaranteed if he was to reach the peak.
Konyi is survived by his wife and two children. I encourage you to read this article - it also has some fantastic photos of Konyi.
